11 Additional Palm Beach County Defendants Charged In Staged Accident Fraud Scheme

According to a June 18, 2012 FBI press release from Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, José A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CID), and Jeff Atwater, Chief Financial Officer, Florida Department of Financial Services, 11 others are charged in two separate indictments for involvement in a staged accident PIP fraud scheme.

From the FBI press release:

In two separate indictments, defendants Obelio Rodriguez, a/k/a Ovy, 43, formerly of West Palm Beach, Maria Molina, a/k/a Cary, 41, of West Palm Beach, Yuliet Tapanes, 25, of West Palm Beach, Moises Madrid, 40, of Orlando, a licensed massage therapist, Dagoberto Milian Lopez, a/k/a Lavadora, 56, formerly of West Palm Beach, Amaurys Hernandez, a/k/a El Manco, 40, of West Palm Beach, Gilda Garcia, a/k/a Hilda, a/k/a La Que Carta, 49, of Greenacres, Javier De La Caridad Troncoso, 45, of Lake Worth, Ana Ovando, 42, of Lake Worth, and Janice Velez, 39, of West Palm Beach, were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349. Defendant Jennifer Adams, 38, of Boca Raton, a licensed chiropractic physician, was charged in an Information with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.

Those involved were allegedly involved in recruiting individuals to participate in staged automobile accidents and instructing participants on how to conduct accidents, what to tell responding police officers, insurance company representatives and independent medical examination (IME) physicians, how to collect police reports, and what clinic to go to for treatment, even though the participants did not need treatment.

Records also indicate the defendants prepared fraudulent insurance documentation and fraudulent PIP Automobile Insurance Claims for chiropractic and massage therapy treatments for the staged accident participants, claiming that that the treatments were medically necessary and that the patients had received the treatments when, in fact, the treatments were not necessary and usually not received.

The clinics involved include:

OVY Rehabilitation Medical Center, located on Congress Avenue, West Palm Beach, Florida;

HHR Rehab Medical Center, located on Congress Avenue, West Palm Beach, Florida

Chiropractic Center of Palm Beach Corp, located on Belvedere Road, West Palm Beach, Florida;

Chiropractic Office of South Florida, located on Congress Avenue, in Palm Springs, Florida

Florida Mango Massage Therapy Center, located on Forest Hill Boulevard, Lake Clarke Shores, Florida;

New York Medical and Rehab Center, located on Forest Hill Boulevard, Lake Clarke Shores, Florida;

and

KCC, located in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The full press release from the FBI is available here.